20th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Cycle
A
August
20, 2017 8:00 and 9:30am Mass
Saint Mary Parish, Pylesville
What a Story!
Well,
that’s quite a gospel!
Jesus’
first responses to this woman are downright shocking! They are inconsistent with everything else he
does.
The
question is: Why? What’s going on here?
Some Scripture
scholars say that a likely explanation is that Jesus is the Son of God and is
divine, but he is also fully human. And
so, even Jesus has to work through the prejudices that can infect all of us.
Breaking Through Prejudices
If we look at this
entire incident, we see that Jesus eventually breaks through the prejudices of
his day.
First, there is gender.
He is talking with a woman when women
are viewed as second-class and are not to be recognized if they are unaccompanied
by their husband.
Then there is religion.
This woman is a not a Jew, and that’s
why she is called a “dog” – the demeaning
expression of that day for all non-Jews.
Next there is culture.
This woman is of a different culture and
probably dresses differently and has different social customs.
And finally there
is nationality. This woman is a
Canaanite and they are viewed as enemies.
Well, Jesus comes
to see this woman as a person with needs and feelings and hopes like anyone
else. And it’s this that leads him to
break through all of these prejudices.
A Lesson on Prejudice
What a gospel story for us today!
The event in Charlottesville has highlighted prejudice in our own country.
I decided that I had to speak on this
topic today to be true to the gospel and true to what I personally believe.
This is a spiritual issue. It is an
issue of faith.
White supremacy, hatred and prejudice directed at blacks, Jews, Muslims
or members of the LGBTQ community – we’ve seen all of these prejudices emerge
in the past week. All of this is wrong,
immoral and sinful.
Personally I have especially grown in my empathy with the life experience
of African Americans in our country. I
have had some personal experiences which I see as gifts from God.
For example, several years ago, when I was pastor at Saint Margaret’s in
Bel Air, an African American man whom I know well was racially profiled, right in
Bel Air. He and his wife are both
professional people, highly educated, and rather affluent – and yet, he was a
victim of racial profiling.
I had the privilege of walking with this couple through that experience. There was a respectful conversation where
reconciliation was achieved and the need for some change to prevent racial
profiling was recognized.
Last Sunday, I had the 8am Mass here and then I went into Baltimore and
did the 11am Mass at Saint Matthew’s Parish.
That parish is about 65% African American.
Many people talked with me after Mass, and one African American woman – a
wife and a mother – told me that in recent months, she has not felt as safe for
herself and her family. She was not
alone in that feeling.
A Recommendation for Us
So, where do we go with this?
What do we do? I don’t know nearly
all the answers, but I do have one recommendation.
Each of us needs to honestly examine whether we have prejudice toward
certain kinds of people, and right now, especially toward African
Americans. Do we have feelings of
dislike, suspicion or even hatred?
Do we ever participate in conversations where racist statements are
made? Do we tolerate those statements,
or do we remain silent, or do we try to redirect the conversation or walk away
from it?
These are not comfortable questions, but I believe we need to ask them. Today, let’s ask the Lord to give us the grace
of realizing our communion with all persons as God’s daughters and sons.
Let’s ask the Lord to remove any feeling or attitude or mindset of white
supremacy. Let’s ask the Lord to replace
that with a feeling and attitude and mindset of human equality.
As I said last Sunday at Saint Matthew’s, it’s got to start with our
being a light in our own community.
Being a light is the only way to dispel the darkness of prejudice.
